The A Nightmare on Elm Street movie franchise didn’t delve into Freddy Krueger as deeply as some audiences would think. From the beginning, the movies have been transparent about Freddy’s background as a child killer and even how he was killed. Later movies – namely Dream Warriors and Freddy’s Dead – added more depth to Freddy’s twisted origin story, revealing his upbringing.
However, a forgotten Marvel comic – Freddy Krueger’s A Nightmare on Elm Street #1 by Steve Gerber, Rich Buckler, Tony DeZuniga, Alfredo Alcala, and Janice Chiang – delves deeper into the origin story of one Frederick Charles Krueger. The brief two-issue comic series finds a way to reveal new details about Freddy Krueger that the movies themselves never explored.
Granted, there are minor tweaks in this comic origin update that alter what audiences learn in the movies. Still, the new details are significant additions to the franchise, especially those detailing when Freddy learned to control his dreams in childhood.
The following plot summary includes mentions of sexual abuse and rape. ✕ Remove Ads
Marvel’s A Nightmare on Elm Street Comic Offers New Details of Freddy Krueger’s Origin
Expanding Details About His Birth
This 1989 chapter of A Nightmare on Elm Street centers around Dr. Juliann Quinn, a New York resident who falls into the crosshairs of Freddy Krueger. As she returns to her hometown of Springwood, Ohio, where she takes on a new patient – a Dream-Stalker who opposes Freddy Krueger – the good doctor reads up on the life of the Springwood Slasher by way of a letter on the plane ride home. The letter came from a nurse who knew Freddy’s mother: Sister Mary Helena, otherwise known as Amanda Krueger.
The letter recalls the birth of Freddy Krueger in the same way that it was first relayed to audiences in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, now with new, graphic details about what transpired. Amanda Krueger was a nun who was accidentally locked inside the insane asylum of Our Lady of Sorrows Institution for the Mentally Ill. The comic reveals that the attack transpired when the sister was assigned for the holidays at a time that’s usually designated for the older, more experienced workers. An emergency in the west wing sent the sole security guard on duty away, advising the sister to not go into the cage until he returned.
Related Freddy Krueger’s True Anatomy Manages to Make the Nightmare on Elm Street Mascot Even Scarier Than We Realized The A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise has only shown glimpses of how Freddy Krueger’s body works, but a forgotten Marvel comic expands everything.
Amanda waited long enough to assume that the guard either forgot about her or was merely taking longer than expected. At that time, the cries of a disturbed inmate concerned Amanda enough to compel her to enter the cell. The kindness of her heart proved to be her downfall, as once locked inside, she was assaulted by countless inmates for three days until she was discovered on December 26th. She was beaten, broken, and pregnant. The unlikelihood of determining the father deemed Freddy the Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs.
Marvel Reveals the Secret Details of Freddy Krueger’s Childhood
Freddy Learned How to Control His Dreams in Childhood
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After finishing her letter, Juliann proceeds to read the psychiatric evaluation of Freddy Krueger’s upbringing, which offers the most profound new details about his origins. Readers learn that after Amanda gave birth to Freddy, he was sent to St. Dominic’s Home for Orphans. At nine weeks old, he was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Strunk, a loving couple. However, that same night, the Strunk household was robbed. Although they likely didn’t come looking for the child, the muggers kidnapped young Freddy after killing his parents and taking their loot.
This secret origin story adds a lot of new context to what audiences already learn in the movies.
The burglars opted to sell the baby to a pimp named Walter